Boiler and cooling tower systems are used for a number of industrial applications. Common to these applications is the presence of water in the system, and the application of heat to the water at some point in the system. Complex reactions can take place in the boiler system, some of which can lead to problems of scaling and corrosion. One of the most common problems encountered in these systems is that of scale formation, that is, the precipitation of mineral contaminants in the water onto surfaces of the heated system. The problem of scale formation has been addressed in many ways; conventional methods typically treat this as a water hardness issue, and use chemicals to “soften” the water in the system, by attempting to remove excess “hardness ions” such as calcium and magnesium ions.
Water molecules are in constant random motion as described by the Brownian motion phenomenon discovered in 1827 by the botanist Robert Brown and explained by Einstein in 1905. Consistent with kinetic theory of modern physics, as the water temperature increases, the level of water molecule motion increases. Colloid, that is, the suspension of tiny particles in the water, is also affected by Brownian motion. In fact, the Brownian motion of the solution is what keeps the particles in suspension.
The most common ways to increase the Brownian motion have the side effect of increasing water temperature. For example, putting a flame to the container or using microwave radiation will increase movement of water molecules, and naturally will increase the temperature as well. Because heat is produced it has been accepted that heat alone is the cause for scale to build and for dissolved oxygen to phase change to a gas at temperature levels called the saturation point.
The relation between molecular motion and heat has concealed the fact that it is the increase of the water molecules' motion that breaks the individual molecule's magnetic grip on the ions of calcium, carbonate, and dissolved oxygen that is the cause for the saturation points to occur. That is, increasing the temperature of the water increases the motion of the water molecules until the saturation point is reached, but it is the physical phenomenon of the increased molecular motion, and not the added heat itself, that causes the saturation point to be reached. The calcium and carbonate ions released from the magnetic grip of the water molecule bond together and precipitate as individual crystals of scale. Dissolved oxygen as single oxygen atoms bond together, producing O2 and gas off in water systems open to atmosphere, or are removed from closed systems. Thus, mineral and dissolved oxygen saturation points of water are not produced by a chemical reaction. Rather, they are triggered by a physical action.
Formulas have been used to predict when scale and oxygen would reach their saturation points. These formulas have used total hardness, total alkalinity, pH, and temperature to determine when scale would form. Replacing “temperature” with “molecular motion” provides a more accurate description of how and when the saturation point of dissolved minerals and oxygen will occur. Magnetic conditioning of water, such as by passing a volume of water through a magnetic field or gradient, can provide this effect, inducing molecular motion of water to simulate the heating effect. This, in turn, can be calculated as a factor in determining the saturation point in the water volume of substances of interest.
When the saturation point will occur depends on the initial temperature of the water before passing through the magnetic conditioner. A lower initial temperature of the water necessitates providing a larger number of magnetic poles that the water must pass through in order to replicate the “heating up” of water molecules. Unlike flames, microwaves, or other sources of heat, the increased motion of the water molecule is instantaneous when the magnetic flux lines are encountered by the water. Each magnetic pole instantly rotates the water molecule 180-degrees as the flux lines of the north and south poles are met. Like poles are repelled and unlike poles are attracted, making motions violent and producing two 180-degree motions per magnet after passing the pole of the first magnet. Heating with a flame takes BTUs plus time to increase the molecular motion. Heating with radiation, plus time, also increases molecular motion.